


Inside The Cage

by NaughtyBees



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Food, Friendship, Gen, Shakespeare, Trinity Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 05:46:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5773660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaughtyBees/pseuds/NaughtyBees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rex Goodman is a man who knows first hand what happens when you try to educate Supermutants. Strong wants to find the milk of human kindness. A human and a mutant in a cage together isn't as bad as one would think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inside The Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Strong is pretty sweet when you're friends with him. Also, Rex never had a bed so this must have happened.

The wire floor bit into Rex's flesh as he sat up after waking from his nap, frowning and hissing in pain. He wished the supermutants had given him a bed of some sort as sleeping to pass the time was the usual. He had a chair and a desk but no bed. He supposed he could sleep on the desk if he could bend the nails down so they didn't stab him. He stood up and seated himself on the chair, a hand on his stomach, having not eaten for a few days. Not since he was thrown into a cage for trying to educate the supermutants. Now that he thought about it, it was a little stupid. Those mutants didn't know the Bard from waving a spear around. He was about to read over his Macbeth script again when he heard a clumsy key in the door. He gripped the paper tightly in fear, wondering if he was about to be lunch. 

A mutant stumbled in, being pushed by another. Face contorted with anger, the supermutant began to pound on the door as it was locked again. "LET STRONG OUT!" He bellowed, his green fists beginning to bleed against the wire. He soon gave up, turning his attention to Rex who swallowed thickly. 

"...Have you come... To eat me?" Rex asked as calmly as he could, his hands shaking a little. 

The supermutant looked at him dumbly, a scowl on his face. Rex could tell he wasn't the brightest bulb.   
"Strong heard human read Mack Beth. Brothers think it is funny. Strong want hear more about milk of human kindness."

Rex perked up a little. So he wasn't crazy! He'd finally gotten through to one of them! He smiled. "Ah. ' Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be.  What thou art promis'd. Yet do I fear thy nature, i t is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to  catch the nearest way.'" He recited emphatically. 

Strong took a moment to process this before shaking his head in a dismissive manner. "Strong want to find milk. Drink milk."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "The milk of human kindness is an intangible concept." He said, leaning forward in his seat. "Why would you want to find it?"

Strong lumbered closer and Rex noted that his feet were almost bare and wondered if they would get as hurt as he did on the wire floor. "Strong not understand long words!" He stated before continuing. "Milk is secret to humans. Humans have milk and supermutants don't, right? Strong drink milk, know secret to humans. Make supermutants stronger than humans."

Rex thought that sounded stupid but didn't say so for fear of making him angry. "I see... Well, I suppose..." He suddenly paused when he saw the mutant had a cooler crudely strapped to his belt. "You have food!" He leapt to his feet. "You don't mind if I...?"

Strong frowned a little which made Rex worry that he'd overstepped his boundaries. However, Strong did open the cooler. "Rex hungry? Strong have meat, mutfruit, cola..."  
Rex smiled as a mutfruit was handed to him and he bit into it, his tastebuds singing with joy. He looked at Strong who put the cooler on the desk. He then sat on the uncomfortable floor, grunting softly. Rex quickly averted his eyes when he noticed he could see right up Strong's crudely made skirt. He cleared his throat and began to read through his script silently. Strong stared at him before speaking.   
"Rex will help Strong? Help find milk?"

Rex pondered on this for a moment. He supposed there was no harm in it. "I give my word to you. If we ever escape here with our lives. Which brings me to the point of why you're in here in the first place."

"Strong told brothers about milk. They say Strong is weak like human. When they eat Rex, they throw Strong off tower..." He grunted, looking out at the setting sun. 

Rex frowned a little, looking out into the distance too, feeling the Bard's ghost looming behind him. "'All the world ‘s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts'..." He trailed off, wondering when his last sunset would be. 

Strong didn't seem to want to talk to Rex about anything. Of course, their interests were very varied. One loved the majesty of the spoken word, heart beating in time with rhythm, the glorious power of simple poetry. The other loved crushing things into a bloody pulp. Not much in common. Aside from, it seemed, Macbeth. Rex smiled and began to read aloud. Strong turned his head and listened, speaking up now and again when he didn't understand a word. Rex didn't know how but he ended up sort of liking this mutant. There was no longer a predator-prey kind of tension in the air. They had both been laughing at one point, telling stories and being very friendly to one another. Eventually, Rex glanced at his wristwatch, eyebrows raising. 

"Mercy me, it's late. I suppose I'll have to lay on this wretched floor again." He sighed, standing. He watched Strong lay down on the floor and almost instantly fall asleep, not feeling the metal cutting into him, the snores that escaped him sounding like a deathclaw in heat. Rex took the spot furthest away from Strong just in case he was a sleep eater. He tried not to think about how his whole head could fit in that putrid mouth and tried to find comfort where none was available. The wind was always cold on the top of the tallest building in the Commonwealth but tonight it was even more so. It bit at Rex's skin where the wire didn't, causing him to shiver, his breath a little ragged. His teeth chattered and he curled into a ball to conserve heat. 

Suddenly, he let out a surprised yelp as something jabbed him in the back rather hard. "Rex?" The human looked over to see Strong frowning at him, finger still outstretched. "Why Rex make noises?" He asked gruffly. 

Rex hoped this wasn't leading up to Strong being angry. "I-It's freezing and the floor is so uncomfortable." He muttered through his shivering, holding himself tight to try stave off the cold.   
He flinched a little when he saw Strong move his huge hand toward him, shocked when it was able to completely wrap around his waist. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!" His question was soon answered when Strong lifted him with no effort and placed him in the middle of his torso. Rex was shell shocked, staying completely still. He didn't know what to do. Get off and risk offending Strong? Or stay laid on a supermutant's chest? The notion was so ridiculous but he couldn't find the strength to laugh. He squeaked in surprise when Strong wrapped his arms around him, hugging him close to his chest. Rex suddenly felt how warm he was now as Strong was a lot warmer than a human. Plus, he was laid on soft flesh and muscle, not awful wire. Granted, Strong really smelled horrible, but he could get used to that if it meant a good night's sleep. 

"Rex comfy and warm?" Strong asked, his chest rumbling slightly. 

Looking up at him, Rex nodded. "Thank you. But... I'm a human. Why would you be nice to me?"

Strong thought for a moment before explaining. "Rex help Strong find milk. Rex is kind to Strong. Strong and Rex are brothers and brothers share all. Strong share warm with Rex."

"Well..." The logic was there so the thespian was satisfied. He rolled onto his back, trying to pretend he was on a mattress with a blanket over him and not on a mutant with some arms that could break him in half over him. He sighed quietly, closing his eyes. "'We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.'" He quoted, the last part cut off with yet more loud snoring. Despite this, he began to doze, tuning into the loud heartbeat behind him and letting it lull him into the first sleep he had had in days. And it was all thanks to his new, unlikely friend. 


End file.
